A Borg in Skyrim
by ThaneKira
Summary: When Voyager is hit by an energy beam within an anomaly, Seven of Nine disappears and reappears in Tamriel.
1. Chapter 1: The Nebula

Chapter 1:

"Nutritional supplement 13 Alpha." Seven said to the replicator. There was a brief flash of light before Seven of Nine's morning meal appeared before her. Seven quickly ate the nutritional supplement and went over her schedule for the day in her daily log. Seven had her schedule perfected down to the minute, choosing the most efficient route to each location and finding new ways to avoid making pointless and inefficient small talk with Ensign Kim and Neelix.

Seven was about to leave the cargo bay and head to Astrometrics, but she heard the Captain's voice on her com-badge. "_All senior staff report to the briefing room."_

Seven caught the nearest Turbo-lift, in which Tom Paris was also using to get to the bridge. "Have any idea what this is about?" he asked Seven when she entered.

"No."

"Sure?"

"Yes."

"Harry told me that-"

Seven sighed slightly. "Mr. Paris, I would prefer if we continued in silence."

There was a moment of silence before Paris started talking again.

"Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?" he asked.

"What?"

"Well, I guess it would be wrong side of the alcove for you. It's an old Earth expression that means you…have been in a bad mood since you woke up."

Seven took her seat between the Doctor and Commander Tuvok. "So here's what I want to show you all." Said Captain Janeway. She pointed to a nebula on the computer screen. At first Seven did not see what was so interesting about the nebula, but that was before she realized that it was _not_ a nebula.

Lieutenant Torres beat her to the question. "What is it?"

"We don't know. That's we are changing course to go and investigate." Janeway said, obviously pleased with _Voyager's _discovery. Kim handed her a PADD. "This should have all of our scans on the…whatever it is."

As Seven neared Astrometrics she felt a slight throbbing in her skull. Seven ignored it; she could go to Sickbay later. Seven had work to do.

"Have you finished the Multi-Spectral scans yet?" Seven asked Crewman Tal Celes.

"Almost…done." The Bajoran crewman tapped the console. "Hmm…Did I do this right?" she asked very quietly.

"Are you directing your question to me or yourself?" Seven asked, knowing that she would check Celes' work later.

"Oh, I'm fine. Its right, I'm certain." She responded.

Seven turned and continued on her search through Federation and Borg databases for anything similar to this anomaly. That's when she heard Celes exclaim "That's impossible!"

"What is impossible?" Seven demanded.

"T-these scans…" Se handed the PADD to Seven.

The scans showed that this was a beak in the time space continuum, but it was not like anything Seven knew of. If the scans were correct, then this was a break in the universe itself. It proved the theory of Multiverses. But only if they were correct.

"Get this to the Bridge." She ordered Celes.

Seven continued her scans. While she was busy trying to understand the strange forces at work within the breakage. The scanners were acting straggly due to the radiation that surrounded the breakage, so she switched to the specialized Borg sensors. The Borg technology would be able to penetrate the radiation far more easily. Just then, Seven had the pain in her skull again, but it was stronger. She gritted her teeth and continued her advanced scans. The pain came back again even more fiercely. Seven tried to tap her com-badge but she felt paralyzed…and then came the voices. _The collective is trying to contact me._ Seven thought. The voices were at first weak and indistinguishable, but they grew stronger. There were so many voices, and it was different from the orderly voices of the Borg Collective. These voices were chaotic…individual. _Farkas! Get back here you snow- brain! For Windhelm! I'll slit your belly like any old woman's purse! Let me show you the power of Talos Stormcrown! You have done well, mortal. You turned your back on me long ago, I'm leaving Solstheim forever! Fus Ro Dah! I used to be an adventurer like you…but I took an arrow to the knee. _

"Seven…" said a faint, distant voice "Seven."

Light started to shine. The voices were gone. "Seven." The single voice said again.

Seven opened her eyes. She was in sickbay, and Captain Janeway and the Doctor were standing over her. The Doctor started to speak "Seven of Nine-"

"Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero-One." She finished for him.

"How are you feeling?" the Doctor asked.

"I am…well enough to continue my scans." Seven tried to get up.

"Seven, Seven. Calm down, you need to rest." The Doctor said.

Janeway looked Seven directly in the eye. "We passed through the barrier of Radiation about an hour ago. We've dropped to impulse, and scanners aren't working."

"Captain, we need to go back. This…is unlike anything the Borg or the Federation has encountered. The ship-"

Janeway held up her hand for silence. "I looked over your scans. A rift in the multiverse. Fascinating but unlikely."

"At first I doubted the scans as well, coming from Crewman Celes…but I checked them myself. They are correct. We need to leave immediately." Seven insisted.

Captain Janeway sighed rather loudly. "Seven, the scans were incorrect. Mr. Kim and I went over them together."

"Then why are we wasting time by continuing into the anomaly?" Seven asked.

"We found warp trails leading into the anomaly. We believe that the may belong to the raiders that were attacking the colonies in the last sector."

Seven was not interested in the whereabouts of raiders in the last sector.

"Has any other crew member experienced the voices?" Seven asked the Doctor.

The Doctor stopped his samples. "Voices?"

Captain Janeway walked to the Doctor's side. "Voices? The Collective?"

Seven stiffened. "No, they were different. Chaotic…and individual."

"A-ha!" the Doctor exclaimed. "I think I've found the reason for your pain-and your voices."

"What is it?" Janeway asked, crossing her arms.

The Doctor showed Seven and Janeway an image of Seven's blood, which was a mixture of human blood cells and Borg nanoprobes. "Seven's nanoprobes are in a state of hyper-stimulation due to the radiation coming from the anomaly. Her implants have been malfunctioning by sending pain signals to her body."

Janeway looked closer at the image on the console. "And what about her voices?"

"The radiation has mostly likely affected some of her communication receptors. She is undergoing something similar to what happened when she encountered the Vinculum."

Seven opened her mouth to speak, but the Doctor interrupted her. Seven hated when he did that. "There's no need to call Commander Tuvok, though." He chuckled at his own mocking reference to the mind meld with the Vulcan Security Chief that had saved Seven's life. "I have an inoculation that will stop the effects of the radiation."

He gave her in inoculation in her neck, as usual.

The Captain's com-badge chirped. "_Captain, we've reached the edge of the anomaly._" Said Commander Chakotey.

Seven started to walk to the exit, but the Doctor stopped her, "Seven, where are you going?"

"I am needed on the bridge." Seven said.

"You aren't going anywhere but your alcove. The inoculation takes time to work. You'll feel much better after a good night's regeneration." The Doctor informed her.

"Captain-" Seven began.

"Seven, I think _Voyager _will be safe without you for a few hours. We're stuck at One-Quarter impulse for awhile. You won't miss much." Janeway said.

Seven didn't entirely agree with her, but she didn't argue. Seven left sickbay and headed to the Cargo Bay. As she neared the Cargo she passed Crewman Tal Celes. The Bajoran slowed for a half-second and looked at Seven as if she was expecting a thank you from her. "Crewman." Seven said.

Celes nodded and scampered off in the direction of the nearest Turbo-Lift.

When Seven entered the Cargo Bay, she felt a slight tingling on the back of her neck. She turned but only saw the Cargo Bay doors closing behind her. Then she heard the voices. _Need something? Good job, lass. Skyrim belongs to the Nords! Hey, Skeever-butt! Keep your hands to yourself, sneak thief. _

Seven regained her senses and began her regeneration cycle.

During her regeneration cycle, Seven began to dream. She saw images of a three figures standing over a ruined place. A city being destroyed. A huge black winged beast swooping out of the sky. The images startled Seven, but she had no desire to stop her regeneration cycle due to irrelevant thoughts. Then she felt a shaking that was outside of her unconscious mind. Seven stopped her cycle. After the Computer informed her that her Regeneration Cycle was incomplete, Seven felt the shaking again. She originally thought that _Voyager_ was under attack, but there was no red alert sound.

Seven felt the tingling again, and turned to see a large blue burst of light about 5 meters away. It was slowly, but steadily moving closer towards her. Seven tapped her com-badge, but she got only static. The light moved faster. Seven knew that she did not have enough time to reach the Cargo Bay doors, so she grabbed a phaser and a tricorder. Seven closed her eyes as the light covered her...

The Bosmer vampire was running through the fields when he came upon the Nord woman. She was wearing a tight-fitting bodysuit. She had some sort metal gauntlet on one of her hands and another metal piece above her eye. He couldn't figure out what type of metal it was. Iron? Steel? Ebony? It didn't matter, he still had long way to go, and a free snack was lying right before him. The Bosmer quickly knelt down and turned her over to get a better area of her neck. When he did this, he realized how attractive the Nord was. _Pity I can't take her and make her my own thrall_, He thought sadly.

He bit her on the neck and tasted her fresh blood. It was slightly metallic in flavor and in all honesty wasn't that satisfying. The vampire saw the glow of the torches and heard the voices of the angry Vigilants of Stendarr closing in behind him. As he ran for his life, the vampire was unaware of the Borg nanoprobes slowly assimilating his body.


	2. Chapter 2: The Thief

Chapter 2: The Thief

A Farm Outside of Riften, Skyrim

Seven woke amongst the cabbages. She looked into the light blue sky. Seven crawled up to her feet to look at her surroundings. Her bodysuit was covered in dirt and leaves. Seven tapped her com-badge. "Seven of Nine to the _Voyager_. _Voyager_, respond."  
There was no response. Seven found her Tricorder still at her side, and her phaser about a foot away from her in the cabbages. Seven took out the Tricorder and began to take scans of the area. She was on a planet- not a holodeck- as she had first suspected. Seven heard the bushes rustle behind her and for a second her eyes met another's. And what happened next occurred so fast...

A dark figure came from behind Seven and grabbed the phaser from the row of cabbages. Seven turned to try and intercept the thief, but she was to slow and the thief rolled away from Seven's grasp. "Give it to me!" Seven yelled at the thief.

Seven heard voices coming from a building at the edge of the field. Seven chased the thief away from the farm and into the woodlands. The thief dodged every root and rut in the ground with almost un-human quickness. Only Seven's Borg-enhanced dexterity and hours of physical training on the holodeck allowed Seven to keep up with the thief. Seven slowly got close enough to grab the thief's arm, and sent her spiraling to the ground with a Tsunkatse chest kick to, well, the thief's chest. When the thief hit the ground, Seven raised her arm in an arc over the thief's neck. "Resistance is futile." Seven hissed. "Give me the phaser."

"Oh, is that what it's called?" the thief asked. The thief shook her head to knock off her hood and reveal long, pointed ears that would put a Vulcan to shame, gray skin, and light lavender eyes.

"Give me the phaser." Seven repeated, feeling her anger rise.

The thief chuckled lightly. "If you want your what ever it's called back you'll have to try a lot harder than that." The thief went limp for a half-second, and when Seven instinctively loosened her grip, the thief twisted out of Seven's grasp and flung a handful of black powder right into Seven's eyes. Seven's eyes immediately began to burn. As the thief dashed away with her prize, Seven crumpled to the ground.

The burning in her eyes was almost unbearable. Almost. Seven would survive. She was Borg. Pain was irrelevant. Seven squeezed her eyes closed and tried to breathe in a similar fashion as Commander Tuvok had once shown her on a long shuttle flight.

_ We are Borg. _Seven thought, trying to block out the pain.

Light came back to Seven's eyes. For a second, Seven thought that she was back in Sickbay. I only took a moment to realize that was not true. The sun was up, but it looked as if dusk was nearing. Seven instinctively went for her Com-Badge, but wasn't there. Neither was her Tricorder. Seven rubbed her face. She was damaged. Seven got up to see if she was damaged elsewhere. That's when Seven realized she was not wearing her bodysuit. She was wearing undergarments, but unfortunately they were not _her_ undergarments.

A wolf howled amongst the thick trees. Seven needed shelter for the night. She would…sleep. Sleep was ineffiecnt, but she had no other option. The wolf howled again. Seven could find suitable garments and resume the search for her equipment tomorrow.

Voyager

Captain Janeway stepped off of the Turbo-lift and onto the bridge. "Report!' she called to no one in particular.

"We've encountered a strange energy reading coming from inside the ship." Said Chakotay.

"Where in the ship, exactly?" Janeway asked as slid into her chair.

"We aren't sure…" Chakotey started.

Ensign Kim interrupted him. "I've got it! The readings are some sort of energy beam…it's coming from Cargo Bay 2!"

Janeway tapped her com-badge. "Janeway to Seven of Nine. Seven, respond."

There was nothing but static. "Computer." Janeway called "Locate Seven of Nine."

"_Seven of Nine is not on Voyager_" it responded.

"Tuvok, get a security team ready. I'm going with it. Chakotay, you have the bridge."

"Aye, Captain."

A few minutes later, Janeway walked with Tuvok and his security team towards Cargo Bay 2. "Janeway to Kim."

"_Kim here._"

"How are you doing with the sensors?"

"_I've picked up on life sign in the cargo bay, but it's certainly not Seven._"

Janeway and the team crouched near the cargo bay doors. She nodded to Tuvok, who opened the doors. The team swiftly entered the Cargo Bay, in time to find… "Captain, look out!' screamed a security team member, right Tuvok shot a creature.

Janeway looked at the dead animal. "It's a wolf. An Earth wolf." She said.

"But, how did it get here?" Janeway asked to no one in particular.


	3. Chapter 3: The Hunters

**If you were wondering, this story occurs between the season 6 episodes 'Muse' and 'Fury'. Enjoy and please review!**

Chapter 3: The Hunters

Fort Dawnguard, The Rift, Skyrim

Agmaer nervously loaded another bolt into his new crossbow. He pointed it at the target he'd painted a few days ago on a pile of unused crates. He stood there for a second trying to line up his shot perfectly with the bull's eye.

"Are you ever going to shoot?" Beleval asked from the sidelines.

"Just give me a second…I need to get it perfect…" Agmaer started.

Beleval took another obnoxiously loud bite out of her apple. The crunch from the Wood Elf's bite disturbed Agmaer, messing up his shot.

"Beleval!" Agmaer shouted in irritation.

She took another bite. "What?"

"My shot!" Agmaer exclaimed.

Beleval snorted rudely. "Of for the love of the Eight! Give it to me."

When Beleval tried to snatch the crossbow out of his hands, Agmaer stepped back defensively. "Sorine asked _me _to test out the new crossbow design!"

Beleval rolled her eyes. "It's an old Dwarven design. It's hardly _new_. Anyways, I don't think Sorine will care who tests it, as long as it gets done. Now give it to me."

Agmaer just stared at her. Beleval extended her hand for the crossbow. Agmaer still didn't give it to her.

"Agmaer, you're acting like a baby."

Agmaer sighed and reloaded the crossbow. "Ok, I'll do it."

H aimed and fired at the target. He hit a little ways off center. It was acceptable, but not extraordinary.

Agmaer thought about loading another bolt, but he decided not to. "Let's take it back to Sorine." He said. Beleval nodded, and flung the apple core behind her, hitting the target dead center.

Agmaer and Beleval returned to Sorine.

"It worked fine." Beleval announced as she entered Sorine's temporary workroom. Sorine usually didn't use this section of Fort Dawnguard, but due to some repairs going on after a Vampire Wizard made a rockslide that crushed sections of the fort, she was relocated here so her former workshop could be used for storage. In short: the area was a total mess.

The ground was littered with various bits and pieces of metal and animal hides. "Sorine!' Beleval called. She carefully went deeper into the mess, avoiding the junk scattered on the floor. Agmaer was not as lucky as he followed her. Agmaer had to do a quick jump-step to stop himself from tripping over a random steel ingot. "Be careful." Beleval warned him; most likely realizing her comment was an afterthought.

Agmaer and Beleval found Sorine crouched over a scroll, lost in thought.

"We used he crossbow. It works." Agmaer said.

She looked up from her scroll. "It does? Oh, good."

"Um…" Started Agmaer, holding up the crossbow for Sorine to see.

"Yes, yes." She waved her hand dismissively. "Put it over there somewhere."

Agmaer handed it to Beleval. She placed it on one of the few cleared workbenches. When they started to leave, Sorine beckoned them back. "Beleval, could you come back for a moment? I need your longbow expertise with something."

The Wood Elf shrugged. "Sure. Agmaer, I'll see you later."

After leaving Sorine's workroom, Agmaer wasn't sure what to do. His watch didn't start for a few hours, and Isran was probably using the training yard. Isran was the leader of the Dawnguard. He was a tough, experienced Vampire hunter who usually kept to himself. Except for now. At exactly 2 o'clock, he left the solitude of his office or (occasionally) the torture room for the training yard. Most people stayed out of his way when he was busy hacking away at straw dummies with his hammer; and rightfully so. Isran had a dark and gloomy past, and blamed all of his problems on either vampires, his past, or occasionally recruit that got in his way. And since he took his anger at his various problems out in the yard…Agmaer stayed away.

Agmaer tried to stop Celann as he rushed by in the corridor, but he ignored Agmaer's greeting. Most other recruits and new agents treated Agmaer like this. Most people joined the Dawnguard out of anger at vampires or hatred of all things undead and unnatural. Agmaer was different; he only joined because he felt that he needed to help Skyrim by fighting those who wanted to harm the innocent. Beleval's story was quite different from all the others. She was an incredible archer form the Cyrodiliic city of Leyawiin. Due to her talents with the longbow the Fighter's Guild, the Imperial Legion, and (Beleval told Agmaer to keep this a secret) the Aldmeri Dominion had sought her out. Bothered by all the groups vying for her talents, she left Cyrodiil for Skyrim. Like Agmaer, Beleval had no anger towards vampires.

Agmaer felt a slight rubbing at his legs. He looked down to find Bran looking right back up at him. "Hey, boy. What are doing out of your kennel?"

Bran only responded with his typical half-bark, half-howl. Agmaer patted the husky's back. "Agmaer!" he heard behind him. Agmaer turned to find that it was Beleval.

"Agmaer! We've got a mission!" she screamed in excitement.

Voyager's Sickbay

"It's a wolf."

"You're certain? An Earth wolf?" Janeway asked, still in shock about what had happened in the Cargo Bay.

"Yes." Said the Doctor.

"How did a Terran wolf end up in a starship's cargo bay in the Delta Quadrant?"

Chakotay answered her. "We aren't entirely sure. Harry says that the computer noticed the non-humanoid life sign in the cargo bay almost instantly after Seven disappeared."

Janeway scowled as she wondered how this could happen. _Could Seven be the wolf? Stop it, Kathryn!_ A few days ago Janeway had had a nightmare in which the ship had been invaded by werewolves. Kathryn would never tell this to anyone, but as a child she had been deathly afraid of any creature with the word 'were' in front. In third, a kid in her class had written a short story entitled 'Revenge of the Were-targ'. She had been so scared that she had left the class and ran home.

"Do we have any idea how it got here?" Janeway asked, pushing her childish fears away.

"We have one. It's a little far fetched…but, there is some evidence to back it up."

"Let's hear it." Janeway said.

"I don't think I'm the person to explain it. There is someone waiting in astrometrics. I think she can explain it better."

Astrometrics

Janeway entered Astrometrics to find Crewman Tal Celes standing at Seven's main console looking into the view screen's image of the anomaly.

"Celes?"

The Bajoran turned in surprise. "Oh, Captain! I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there! I was just-" she stuttered.

"At ease, crewman."

Celes let out a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry-"

"Calm down, I'm not here to put you in the brig. Commander Chakotay told me that you have an idea about what happened to Seven."

Celes nodded. "Yes, I do." She tapped the console, and magnified the center of the anomaly. "Here. There is a sort of dimensional portal that our sensors can't penetrate."

"I read your report on the anomaly. This is your proof?"

"Y-Yes…"

Janeway turned and smiled at Celes. "Well, I like it! Keep working on those sensors!"

Janeway could tell from Celes' shakiness that she was feeling overwhelmed.

As Janeway left Astrometrics, she heard Celes behind her.

"Captain?"

"Yes, Crewman?"

"I'm sorry about Seven. I know that you two were very close. I'm sorry."

"Celes, if you find a way to get her back, there's no need to feel sorry."

As he left Astrometrics, Janeway's com-badge chirped.

"Sickbay to Janeway."

"Go ahead."

"I think you need to come down here. I've just completed a full autopsy on the wolf…and I've found something strange."


	4. Chapter 4: The Wolves

**So sorry about the update taking forever, but now it is here!**

**I know that the story is moving slowly, but the action should be starting soon. Oh, and I don't own Voyager or The Elder Scrolls.**

Chapter 4: The Wolves

The Rift, Skyrim

"When will we get to hunt any bears?" an annoying female voice asked.

"When we find some." Said another voice, this time a male's.

The first voice sighed.

Seven quietly peaked out the bushes, and looked at the people walking by.

There were three. Two human females, and one human male. All were armed. Seven observed them cautiously. As Seven snuck through the bushes of the Autumnal Forest, she accidentally stepped on a stick.

"Skjor! Aela! Did either of you hear that?" the smaller darker skinned female yelled.

"I did." Said the older female, which Seven deduced was named Aela.

"I heard it, also. But you don't need to yell about it, Ria." The man, Skjor, said to Ria with only-barely controlled anger.

Aela looked around. "What do you think it was?"

Skjor put his hand on his sword hilt. "Could be anything. The Rift's got no shortage of thieves and bandits. Could also be bears or a stray troll."

"Or a wolf." Ria said.

"It's not a wolf." Aela and Skjor said at the same time.

Another noise came from behind Seven. It was not her. There was another coming from the opposite direction. _Someone has surrounded us. _Seven thought.

"There it is again." Ria pointed out to the others.

"It probably isn't anything." Said Skjor. "Let's keep moving. We should be getting close to Riften soon."

The three kept walking.

Seven's ocular implant detected a strange reading coming directly from the bushes opposite Seven's location across the dirt path. Seven wasn't sure what the readings meant, but it was an energy signature of some kind. A weapon, perhaps? Seven doubted that. These people were obviously pre-warp, and it was unlikely that they would have energy weapons of any kind. Seven's curiosity led her to nearing the path even more.

A person hopped out of the bushes. He was catlike (complete with whiskers and a tail) and wore crude layers of fur and hides on his body. More people came out of the forest, surrounding the three. The Skjor and Ria drew their swords while Aela notched an arrow to her bow. "What is the meaning of this?" Skjor called furiously to a muscular dark-skinned human who stood directly in front of the three.

"You are the Companions of Whiterun?" the dark-skinned man asked sword drawn.

"Yes." Skjor replied.

"Then it's time to die, dog!" he snarled, charging toward Skjor. The others drew various weapons and attacked.

Seven knew she could not jus simply stand by and allow these three to be killed. That would break lesson 27: Helping Others in Need. But what could Seven do? She had no weapon. In fact, she had no clothes!

But, before Seven could think about her choice, she charged out of her leafy hiding spot. Seven attacked a bare-chested human with a flying kick that sent him right to the ground. The others were taken by surprise at Seven's attack. Seven threw herself into the mob, kicked and hitting anyone who tried to fight back. Seven let her instincts take over as she fought. At some point in the fight she acquired a weapon. Seven swung the flat of the blade to the side of one of the fighters, who immediately fell to the ground, bleeding.

When all of the enemies had been killed, knocked unconscious, had run away, Seven dropped the sword and looked at the carnage around her.

"I have to thank you." Said Skjor, a human male with only one eye.

"You are…welcome." Seven replied.

Aela walked to Skjor's side. She was a thin, tall human female with black war paint on her face. "Missing something, aren't you?"

"Explain." Seven said.

"Clothes? Ever heard of clothes?"

"Are you questioning my intelligence?" Seven asked, perhaps a bit too harshly.

Skjor coughed for attention. "How about you get some clothes and some gear and we can discuss what is going on? Ria! Check the area for anymore enemies."

Seven returned to Aela, Skjor, and Ria wearing something quite different from her bodysuit. She was wearing fur armor with fur boots with a fur helmet. Seven had two iron daggers, a Silver Sword, a hunting bow, and steel arrows. Skjor was cleaning a wound in his leg, while Aela was drinking a sour smelling drink, and Ria polished her new steel helmet.

Aela put down her drink, and looked Seven right in the eye. "Sit down. Want some wine?"

Seven looked at the bottle. "No."

Skjor sat down next Aela. "So tell me…Seven, is it?"

"Seven of Nine is my true designation." Seven responded.

"Seven of Nine? Did your parents get bored naming kids?" Aela asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No." said Seven, who had difficulty explaining her name to even space-faring persons. Seven was quiet as she tried to find an easy explanation for these small-minded sword-fighting people.

"Well?" started Aela "You ever going to respond? Or are you just going to stare at us like we're crazy?"

Seven simply looked at both of them, ignoring Aela's question.

Eventually Seven said, "I shall tell you what you want to know of me; but only when I now who you are, where I am, and who attacked us."

"You don't know who the Companions are? Do you have amnesia or something?" Ria asked, just noticing Seven's implants.

"I don't know anything about your world…or perhaps even your universe. I am not from this planet…what do you call it?"

"Nirn is the name of the planet…but most people call this continent Tamriel."

"Tamriel." Said Seven, savoring the word. It sounded nice. Seven had discovered the beauty in words.

Ria eyed Seven strangely. "Um…"

"I am sorry for my…emotional outburst. I like the sound of that word." Seven sighed. Sometimes human feelings could get the better of her.

Skjor's eyes flashed between Seven and Ria.

Seven tried to hide her irritation. "You shall go first."

"Ria, get over here." Skjor called.

Ria put down her helmet. "Yeah?"

"Go patrol the area. We don't want any more unexpected guests."

Ria rolled her eyes. "Aww, c'mon! I never get to hear any of the good conversations!"

"Get a move on, whelp." Said Skjor "Unless you fancy a boot up your ass."

Ria stalked off.

"You don't trust her?" Seven asked after Ria's departure.

"Not with this." Aela said. "Ria is new to the Companions. She's only just proven her honor. Ria isn't ready to share secrets yet."

"That is a…good idea. I understand your logic."

"Now that that's settled, we can get down to business." Skjor said, staring directly at Seven. "So, Seven you want to know about the people who attacked us? Alright. Seven, do you believe in werewolves?"

Seven raised an eyebrow. "If you are referring to the folktale of sentient humanoids being transformed into non-humanoid animals, no."

Aela and Skjor sighed rather loudly. "You sound crazy." Said Aela.

"Crazy? I find it crazy that even a more primitive culture would believe in bizarre tales of humanoids being changed on such a large level. There are rare cases of particular viruses altering single cells, but it is impossible for a human to be affected on a full body scale." At the end of her lecture, Seven took a large gulp of fresh air.

Skjor whispered something to Aela, who then glared at Seven. "So I can assume you are skeptical of magic as well?" she asked.

Seven nodded.

Aela gave a knowing look at Skjor. She stuck out her hand and a small flame appeared on her hand. "Don't believe in magic? You're lucky you aren't up north…"

At the end of the rather long conversation, Seven found herself in a much bigger problem than she had originally believed. As a recap…Seven was in another universe where magic not only existed, but was also widely used, she had no phaser, no tricorder, and no way to contact Voyager, and now it seemed a group of werewolf hunters called the Silver Hand were after her for attacking their members (even though the Silver Hand had launched an unexpected attack on the Companions first).

"What is the recommended course of action?" Seven asked.

"Well…" Skjor started.

Aela awkwardly mumbled "Uh."

"Magic." Said Seven "Can magic be used to contact people over long distances? Or be used to open rift in the time-space continuum?"

Aela and Skjor once again just stared.

Seven rephrased her sentence. "Can magic be used to open portals?"

Aela shrugged. "I think so…I'm no expert in magic, but I've heard that there are wizards that can."

Seven tried to consider any alternative options, but in truth there were none.

"Where can I find a wizard?"

Riften, a couple hours later

Seven of Nine walked past the stables and towards the main gate of Riften. Without her com-badge or phaser, Seven felt strange and defenseless. The people working at the stables and the nearby farms stopped and looked at Seven (who looked relatively normal, except for the metal sticking out of her body). _You are Borg. The thoughts of others are irrelevant. _Seven told herself. Even though the others on _Voyager_ had told Seven to leave her Borg philosophy behind, Seven thought that it may come in handy in this crude place.

When Seven reached the main gate, a guard stepped out to intercept her.

"You've got to pay the visitors tax…oh, well hello." said the guard, who was staring at Seven with big eyes.

A female guard grunted. "Well, are you going to get her to pay the tax or not?"

He kept staring at Seven. "Uh…sure. Wow. You are pretty. Uh, you don't need to pay the tax. Because you are so gorgeous-I mean…in your condition."

"Condition?" asked Seven "Explain."

"You've got metal sticking out your arm."

Seven sighed. Her implants were attracting too much attention.

"May I enter the city?" Seven asked.

"Yeah. Go ahead."

As she passed the female guard, she rolled her eyes and said "Kinsman."

Seven simply nodded at that. Apparently one of the local human populations, the Nords, believed she was one of them. She had been called 'Kinsman' and 'Nord' by man guards and passerby on her way to Riften.

When Seven passed through the gate, she quickly noticed three things. First, the dampness. Aela had told Seven that the city was very wet, but it still seemed stranger in person. She smelled the scent of wet wood, and abandoned canals. From her location Seven saw a plethora of wooden buildings and bridges. _The city seems to be built upon the lake itself. _Seven thought. Lastly, she could tell that someone was watching her. Seven turned to find a well-armored human man leaning on a shadowy pole. He was watching her. Intently.

Seven walked to him. His arms were crossed, and he looked like he was here for a reason.

"You in Riften looking for trouble?" he asked his voice deep.

"No. I have no desire for…trouble." Seven responded.

"Good. We don't need any people stickin' their noses where they don't belong. You just passin' through?"

_We. _Seven made note of his use of a collective pronoun. "Yes." Seven replied. "I'm here to find a wizard. I was told I could find one in Mistveil Keep." Seven had been told about that place by Aela.

The man chuckled. "Yeah, you'll find a wizard there. Heh-heh. You sure will."

Seven brought the conversation back to the _we _he had mentioned.

"You mention a _we_. What collective are you referring to?"

He raised an eyebrow, but responded "The Black-Briars. Most powerful family in the Rift. I'm sure you've heard of them."

"I have not."

"You're kidding."

"No."

"Well then, that's certainly a first. I'm Maul. I watch their backs, and do the dirty work."

"My designation is Seven of Nine."

Maul chuckled slightly. "Let me guess. Long story, don't wanna talk about how you got a number for a name."

Seven disliked Maul's attitude, but he didn't need a back story, which was fine with Seven.

"I need directions getting to Mistveil Keep."

Maul shrugged. "You're out of luck. I doubt the court wizard would like to be bothered this late. The sun's down. What about if I took you to her in the morning? We could, uh, get some mead now. The Bee and the Barb is famous for drinking here. You can get a room there."

Seven was uncertain of Maul's intentions. "Very well."

Maul led Seven across a wooden bridge. She glanced below to see a stagnant, waste-filled canal. She also noticed homes built into the piers along the empty canal.

"The Plank-side." Said Maul. "The poorer area of Riften. Crime-ridden. Just my kind of place..."

**I'll show more of what's up with the Dawnguard, and also get back to Voyager next chapter.**


End file.
